2 militants, boy killed in Shopian

Security forces taking position during encounter with militants at Chaigund in Shopian district on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Younis Khaliq
Security forces taking position during encounter with militants at Chaigund in Shopian district on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Younis Khaliq

Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar Jan 24: Two militants and a teenager were killed and two girls critically injured during an encounter between militants and security forces in Chaigund village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district today.
A joint team of Army’s 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid a siege to Chaigund in Keegam area of Shopian this afternoon following specific inputs about the presence of militants in the village.

Click here to watch video
As the security forces intensified the searches, the militants hiding in the house of one Ghulam Hassan Bhat opened fire triggering an encounter.
A 17-year-old youth Shakir Ahmad Mir, a resident of Qalampora village of Pulwama district, was killed and two teenage girls were wounded during the initial gun fight. The boy who was critically injured was rushed to Rajpora hospital in Pulwama district where he was declared as brought dead by doctors.
Two girls, both residents of Odoo village in Shopian district with critical bullet injuries were brought to the Rajpora Hospital. They were referred to Srinagar for specialized treatment. The injured girls have been identified as Sumi Jan, daughter of Ghulam Hassan Bhat and Sabreena, daughter of Hilal Ahmad Bhat.
The encounter continued till evening and two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed. They have been identified as Sameer Ahmad Wani alias Maviya of Odoo and Firdous Ahmad alias Umar Bhai of Ganawpora.
During the searches of the debris of the house one AK-47 and two magazines and one Insas rifle and two magazines were recovered.
Clashes broke out in the village during the operation as protesters pelted stones at the security forces to disrupt the operation. The security forces fired teargas to disperse them.
Meanwhile, Internet services were snapped in the twin districts of Shopian and Pulwama to prevent the spreading of rumours and violence.
A police spokesman said that on a specific information, the joint party of Police Shopian, 44 RR and 14 battalion of CRPF laid a cordon at Chaigund area of Shopian in South Kashmir. “The hiding militants under the clad of Burka tried to break cordon and fired indiscriminately on the search party. The security forces retaliated during which Burka-clad militants were forced to go back into hiding. During indiscriminate firing by the militants and the retaliatory fire one civilian Shakir Ahmad Mir resident of Kalampora Pulwama got killed and two ladies Sabreena Jan and Sumi Jan, both the residents of Keegam, Shopian received bullet injuries. The injured ladies were taken to SMHS hospital where from they were shifted to SKIMS Soura for specialised treatment”, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said that Sumi Jan was a resident of the house in which the encounter took place and Sabreena Jan is a sister of HM militant Sameer Wani who was also hiding in the house and was later killed. “So far one AK 47, one INSAS and two dead bodies of militants have been recovered from the encounter site”, he said.
“Meanwhile, it is pertinent  to mention here that during initial phase of operation miscreants tried to disrupt the operation by heavy stone pelting on the security forces”, the spokesman said.
And an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by militants near Pampore Railway Station in Kandizal-Tangpora village in Pulwama district was defused by paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) today.
The IED fitted inside a pressure cooker was recovered at new bypass near Kandizal-Tangpora village, opposite Pampore railway station, this morning. A Bomb Disposal Squad of the CRPF defused the IED, without causing any damage. ”
The IED was planted at a time when security has been heightened and patrols intensified to prevent any militant attacks around January 26.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has expressed grief and anguish over the killing of a youth in the Chaigund village of Shopian district today.
The Chief Minister termed the killing as unfortunate. She appealed youth to stay away from the spots of gunfights.. She has prayed for peace to the departed soul.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here